I agree with Tim Krieder in the above article. We bring much of this "busyness" on ourselves, with obligations and "needs" that we have chosen. And yes, I do believe that with all the material things that many Americans "can't live without", they are very busy trying to afford them. We could live with less, and probably be much happier.

People totally undervalue the power of doing nothing.

i think that people are simply giving generic back when asked generic questions several times a day. "what have you been up to?", "what's new?", "what's going on in your world?" are, more or less, asked out of courtesy or used as lazy conversation starters. personally, those questions make me cringe!!! throw in the fact that they might feel awkward or cumbersome in speech to say the truth because they either know the person asking really does not care or they feel ridiculous saying what really went down... "well, nothing. i am just spending another night alone", "watched tv and walked my dog then ate a quart of ice cream.", "my kid threw up on my new blouse and i spent the rest of the day washing windows.", "yelled at my boyfriend for missing the toilet and not cleaning it up then played with facebook all evening." and so on. aren't we all guilty of saying, "been busy working" at one time or another just to get out of the moment? OR do you, whomever is reading this, really have the guts to start telling the truth and risk a yawn or rolling eyes? blaming solid ego is way too easy of an assumption for this awkward situation. if they use it as an answer to an invitation, well... maybe they are not really that interested in spending time with you and don't have the balls to say it... or... they have a personal matter going down that they do not wish to share... or... they are actually busy... crazy, isn't it? well, it happens.

I like being busy. That's one of the reasons I live in New York. Had to hurry to catch the Keith Haring retrospective at the Brooklyn Museum before it closed. That inspired to go home and work on my own art. I still get some slow time. Having a kid forces me into situations where I can't do much more than sit on a park bench, but I'm always happy to get back to my projects.

I grew up with my father being furious if we slept until 9 A.M. He believes you need to be moving constantly or you are lazy and worthless. I've only recently realized that this is why I constantly make myself busy, even on my rare days off. I pack each hour with a to-do list that would logically take a month to accomplish. That leaves me beating myself up at the end of the day. What a bad way to go. If there are other people like me, they complain about being busy for fear of what people will think of them if they are not. For many people these days its a competition to see who has a life more worthy of complaining about. I agree with MaggieShayne, the more time we spend slowing down, the more we can tackle, and the more open we are to serve the world.

I have been guilty of this myself as a "default" response - especially at work where its more than promoted...I only look to the present and future to STOP this habit, and get to the point of being "real" about busy and what it means....

I believe that many of us are blindly going through life doing things that are not important. How much time do we really spend enriching our selves, our relationships and our lives and how much time do we spend on meaningless activities? I don't believe this is unique to the US, but of western culture where our worth is based on how much we have instead of how much we love.

I think it's sad that our hectic lives have become a 'badge' of how worthy we are, so the busier the better - hence the complaining/declaring of how crazy our schedules are.To so many, there's no 'value' in lying on the grass and watching clouds float by, or watching stars. I think the complaining is unique to the U.S.

The more time I take for myself to relax, meditate, workout, have fun, follow my bliss in the moment, the faster and more efficiently I get my work done when I do sit down to do it. People who are too busy usually have this backwards. They think doing what their soul yearns to do, must come AFTER their "work" is done. Folks, having fun IS YOUR WORK. :)

For me, being busy means being tedious. Business does not always equal worthwhile. When you take your time with your work, you normally find it's more quality than when you rush through as many projects as possible.

i think that most people are not as busy as they tell people they are. i've used the "i've been busy" excuse when i really just didn't have a good reason to not do something or communicate. it's a hard habit to break. i admit to most i'm never really as busy as i seem to be. when i'm busy, they know.

There are times to be busily about work (building up material things that can be lost or will pass away) and times to be busily about play (building up personal and relational things that have a far better chance of enduring).

We are rapidly becoming a culture that spends all of it's time on the former and none on the latter.

It's like we're desperately afraid to spend our time on anything save that which we can lay our hands on for a season but which will inevitably be taken from us.

"Busyness serves as a kind of existential reassurance, a hedge against emptiness; obviously your life cannot possibly be silly or trivial or meaningless if you are so busy, completely booked, in demand every hour of the day." That's an interesting thought. Rushing from task to task certainly wouldn't quell my existential anxiety. If anything, it would make life seem shorter, less sweet. What do I think/feel about people who complain about busy-ness? I wonder why they don't re-prioritize their life.

In my experience, Australians aren't nearly as prone to the 'busy trap'. Nor are Spaniards, nor Italians (who embrace 'the sweetness of doing nothing'). I imagine this trap is foreign to many cultures.

I'm busy=I'm important I'm important=I'm full of shite

A lot of people like to give off the impression of being busy, and will either bullshit or create work to make themselves busier.

This is the UK I am talking about

The truth is that working smarter rather than longer is what the best organisations make happen.. And what I am engaged in making happen in Gloucestershire in health and social care services is exactly this sort of cultural change.

All the hospice guys I watched dying never once wished they spent more days in the office.

Folks telling others that they are "crazy busy" are typically either delusional, self-absorbed, or they have severe organizational challenges. You're not "busy" because you have to work an hour of Facebooking into your daily schedule.You are probably no more "busy" than the average person, but I understand that saying you are feeds your need to feel and sound important.Find me someone with multiple kids and two full time jobs. I might believe that person. Otherwise, feel free to put a plug in it. Not buying it!!!!

If you want work to be done, give it to the person who is too busy. That person knows how to get a lot done in a short amount of time.

In my observations of my own life and the people around me that's been the epitome of living the automatic life. Fulfilling everyone else's preset expectations of you, adopting their belief systems about what constitutes "enough" materially, and either you'll always live someone else's version of your life or you'll stop and reprioritize your life (for us it was major illness that prompted the stop). Once we did that we were able to work less, we certainly buy less, and for the first time are living the conscious life instead of the automatic life. So what do I feel when people complain about being too busy? I wish they'd wake the hell up and reprioritize their lives so they'd get happier. When you're living a conscious life you don't complain even half as much.

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